What Jane’s Been Up To:

Highlights of 2005

• See photos from the Nov. 2004 Caribbean Geek Cruise.
• See my blog from the July 2005 Baltic Blast Geek Cruise.
• Here’s my schedule, if you want to see when I’ll be in your area.

Nov. 18, 2005

Home (sweet home) for the Holidays

I’m sitting in this lounge chair we’ve got in the bedroom. This is where, in winter, I do my writing. (I get too distracted trying to write in my office on my desktop computer, and it’s too cold to work on the porch.)

I’ve been in a bit of a routine, awakening and working on the revision of 21st Century Discipline. Working at a relaxed and enjoyable pace—although untangling and restructuring this manuscript has driven me crazy at times. I’m about halfway through the new table of contents.

I have been loving my time at home. I sometimes walk though the house, extremely aware of how happy I am just to be here! I think I’m still a little exhausted from the past year and a half, especially these past few months. I’m taking it easier than I’ve done in years.

I’ve been sleeping better, working on craft projects, spending time with friends, and cleaning the hell out of stuff (especially in my office and studio) that I haven’t touched in years. I’m feeling more creatively energized lately, so it’s hard not to work sometimes. But this is OK. I’m getting my passion back.

And... I’m not counting days these days.

Nov. 18, 2005

The countdown ends

It’s day 89 of a countdown I started back in August, when I was looking ahead to three solid months with no more than 2 weeks at home at a time. I’m in the airport in Minneapolis, in from Appleton, WI after a great BER week that startes on Monday (Sunday night, really) in Peoria, IL.

I have a 3-hour flight home and, last I heard, nobody next to me, which is almost as good as first class (which, incidentally, I can’t get on Northwest despite my revered status on their Skyteam Partner, Delta. Damn.)

I am really excited, or at least as excited as I can get being as tired as I always seem to be after a week of back-to-back seminars, about having the next two months at home. There are so many things I haven’t had time for, even cooking and cleaning out files sounds really exciting. Really.

I’ll need a few days to catch my breath, but I’ll be back to blog about my break!

Nov. 1, 2005

A new rhythm...

I’m not done yet: I still have a conference in Clearwater later this week and a week out for BER on the 13th. BUT... I’ve been home for a couple of days and it’s starting to feel different. I actually am getting this sense of BEING at home (and yes, having to go out a couple more times) rather than the sense of simply DROPPING IN at home in between speaking engagements, something I’ve been feeling for close to a year.

My stuff is still a mess, piles from the cruise and England next to souvenirs and scraps of things from jobs that go all the way back to August. I haven’t seen the top of my dresser in weeks. And even though I’m going out again in a few days, I’m starting to take control of my life. A bit.

Escaping Florida

So I’m on this ship last Saturday and I finally get through to Delta at 7 a.m. We’re docked but haven’t cleared customs. I end up getting my ticket changed from a Tuesday departure from West Palm to a flight back to Albuquerque in less than 3 hours! (I also had to buy a ticket from Albuquerque to New England but figured I had a better chance of getting to my Wednesday job in Massachusetts from home than from anywhere in Florida!)

I did make the flight by the skin of my teeth, on the plane about 8 minutes before they took off, but I did get home. My immediate departure meant leaving an entire suitcase of all my display materials, computer cables, chimes, a clock, remote control, books, overheads, order forms, and some warm clothes for up north at my mom’s condo. She’s not in Florida right now and won’t be back for another few weeks. I have no idea when I’ll get to pick them up.

I’ve spent much of the past few days replacing all the stuff I had in there. The changes in my air travel and all the replacements have cost close to $1000, but I have to figure it was worth it. Had I stayed in FL for a book signing that never actually happened, it looks like I would’ve been stuck there, unable to make my MA job. So all in all, a good thing.

Oct. 20, 2005

Gilligan, meet Wilma

So I’m on this cruise, supposedly catching my breath, and learning some cool computer and Web design-related stuff, and there’s this hurricane brewing. Yesterday, on St. Thomas, we met a few people on another cruise ship who were there because all their Western Caribbean ports (Cozumel, Belize, Ocho Rios) were cancelled.

Meanwhile, our captain makes this announcement that our stop in Nassau tomorrow has been cancelled and that we may not be able to dock on Saturday. Things have been remarkably up in the air and, just like the weather, my options seem to be changing hourly.

As of this morning, we do expect to be able to dock and disembark on Saturday. But now it’s looking like the storm might not hit until Monday or Tuesday. Since I need to be in Massachusetts on Tuesday night, I’m not real comfortable hanging out in Florida waiting for the possibility of not being able to get out when I need to get out—God knows, that’s happened enough just in the past month.

As much as I’d love to do the book signing in Jensen Beach, and meet the kids who contributed to the High School Book and also see some friends and family along the way, I am considering just heading home for a day or two as soon as I can.

There are a lot of contingencies here and nothing I can determine until, pretty much, I get off this ship, whenever that happens. I’m telling people to just stay tuned.

In the meantime, am I indeed relaxing and catching my breath? Yeah, mostly. I think most of this week has been more than anything about me realizing just how tired I am. Every day I come down a bit more and being around sun and sand and sea and sky has always been good for my cells and soul.

We aren’t doing much running around, no excursions this time other than one day on the beach earlier this week, and I’ve even slept in on class days. Nice. Truth is, it’s day 60 and I still have 29 days until the end of the semester. So I am certain that being here, officially on vacation, has helped, and will help me get through the next 4 weeks.

The computer classes, dinners and interactions have been terrific. I get so much out of these classes and the people on this small conference have been wonderful. So despite being yet another week away from home, all in all, this has been a lovely week.

Oct. 1, 2005

The countdown continues

When I headed out to Chicago on August 22, I was facing a calendar that was pretty much jammed with travel and speaking engagements through November 18. That stretch amounted to 89 days.

As much a fan of “one day at a time” as I might be, the time until a significant break (and the promise of rest, routine and recuperation) was a little too far off to maintain my focus on just getting through the next “thing” facing me.

With the exception of a few small travel snags, several long drives and being sick for most of the past month, the various events and experiences have been lovely, exciting and fun.

Still, I’ve lost any sense of routine I may have had earlier this year, I’m way far behind in my writing and my stuff at home has piled up beyond my control, no matter how much time I devote to sorting, answering, filing or tossing when I actually get to spend a little time at home.

It is now day 41, nearly halfway through the semester, and although the next 4 weeks will be solidly on the road (with the exception of two stops at home for a day each), the toughest part of the schedule—travel and work-wise—is behind me.

Although I’m still a little jet-lagged from my FANTASTIC trip to London last week (a side trip to Edinburgh, which I loved!!), I have managed to work a bit this week, including a lovely radio interview yesterday and a book signing at Kmart this morning. Glad to be promoting High School’s Not Forever, finally, and the Web site as well, and getting a great response.

I met a young lady at the book signing, the first one who bought a copy of the book, who shared a book of her poems with me. She graciously copied one of them and gave it to me. It is now posted, the latest addition on the HSNF Web site. Good stuff. I hope to hear more from her.

I can’t believe I have to pack again. I leave for Tulsa (and Bradenton, FL later next week) on Monday. I’m excited about both of these jobs. Just not quite ready to leave town again.

This morning was the first day of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and it’s a spectacular day—perfect blue skies, unusually warm for this time of year. Sat on the deck this morning and watched hundreds of balloons drift across the sky. If I’m only home a few days this month, I’m sure glad this was one of them!

Sept. 11, 2005

Contracts, countdowns and chest xrays...

I haven’t had a chance to add much to this site, or this page. Even keeping up my Speaking Resume has been a challenge.

I’ve had some incredible experiences working with districts around the U.S. and Canada these past few weeks, many in cities and areas I’d never been before. I’ve been doing an awful lot of flying and driving, too—more than I’ve done in years!

And yes, working with teachers at the beginning of the school year certainly has a different energy than at the end of the year!! The participants have been great, absolutely awesome in some places.

I signed my contract with Corwin and have been working on the next edition of 21st Century Discipline. I actually think it’s more difficult trying to incorporate the original book into the work I’ve been doing these past several years (which is more like the format I plan to use in this revision) than it would be to simply start from scratch. Quite a challenging project, and not just because there’s been precious little time or space to sit, process, formulate ideas and actually write.

I’m a little worn out from all this moving around. When I went out at the end of August, I actually began a countdown to the end of the semester. Some significant numbers: Today is day 21 in the countdown. I have 68 days left until that badly-needed two-months-at-home I’ve promised myself (and my husband and my dog, my friends, my mom...). I also realized that I will only be home for 10 days between now and Oct. 27. THAT sort-of sucks, even though I’ll be gone for a lot of good things.

About a month ago, I picked up a nasty sinus infection and I’m having a really hard time getting over it. I seem to have relapsed, or maybe picked up some new stuff along the way. I went straight from the airport this afternoon to an emergency clinic where I learned that I have an upper respiratory infection. (A chest xray ruled out pneumonia which, evidently, was a concern at one point.)

The timing couldn’t be much worse. I have decided to postpone my trip to England for a few days if I need to, and am really hoping that the airlines cooperate. There really are few things worse than being sick on the road.

So I’m devoting these next few days to as much REST as I can and anything I can’t do from this bed with this laptop is gonna have to wait!

July 30, 2005

Back to Work

I just got back from four days in the midwest doing four full-day, back-to-back seminars. I had some wonderful groups this week—warm, receptive and responsive. And after a brief break from presenting, this was a nice reminder of how much I really enjoy the work I do.

After writing about how some of the groups I've had toward the end of the school year included a number of, um, grumpy (and in some instances, downright hostile) individuals, I started thinking. I had a couple of people this past week say they were really grateful to have had the workshop during the summer, and that they probably wouldn't have been quite as open to it at the end of this past school year.

As obvious as it seems right now, it had never occurred to me to try to schedule the bulk of my trainings to occur before, say, the end of March. I've been looking for a month or two to block out during the year to give myself a bit of a break, and that might not be a bad time.

I’m wondering if people are too tired or burned out to really experience much learning, or if this is actually a good time to be doing the work to help at least SOME people actually make it through the rest of the school year.

I’m already committed to a week across Canada at the end of April 2006. Other than all the flying, I really love that run, though I’ve done it at that time of year and had a similar problem connecting with a number of participants, much more so than when I do the same run at different times of the year.

Any suggestions? I’m all ears...

High School book feedback coming in

So far, so good. GREAT, in fact. I haven’t posted the comments on the site yet, but will eventually get some of the feedback posted. Jerry and I just finished up the remaining books that needed to be shipped and I can happily report that they are on their way to the last of the contributors.

New publisher, new contract

I’m a few steps closer to a solid commitment to a new publisher for revised editions of 21st Century Discipline and Being a Successful Teacher. I came back to a contract from Corwin Publishers and unless there’s something very unusual that I haven’t noticed yet, it’s looking like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, as somebody once said.

I really like these guys and I’m very excited to be working with them.

July 18, 2005

Got books?

It was a nice way to spend the weekend: Jerry brought a bunch of boxes of High School’s Not Forever into the living room, along with a couple hundred padded envelopes, rolls of tape, shipping labels and the like. He had already processed about half the pre-orders that had been coming in over the last few months, but there was still a stack from people who had requested autographs.

I had spent a day running off the 200+ address labels (in the box to the right) for the complimentary copies to contributors and had prepared a number of inserts to include with each mailing. Armed with an assortment of colored pens, lists of contributors to cross-check, and a big glass of iced tea, we put on a DVD of The Who in concert (last photo, below), and we went to work.

It was quite the assembly line! I signed books and added the inserts, checked the name off on the list and stacked the books to hand off to Jerry for packing who had been preparing the padded envelopes for packing. Once I had a stack of books ready to ship, he packed them, and then labeled, sealed and taped the packages.

It took me two days to finish signing the books as my hand started to cramp, but once I finished all the autographs and insert-stuffing, I moved over to Jerry’s “station” and pitched in with the packing and sealing. Easy, mindless, repetitive stuff, but done with a lot of gratitude and love. (I was still so jet-lagged all weekend, I don’t think I could have done anything much more challenging intellectually. It was perfect timing for this kind of task!)

This morning, we took 13 boxes filled with packages to the Post Office. It took about an hour to process them all, but oh did it feel good to get back to a now-empty car, walk back into a living room that was no longer cluttered with boxes of books! And although this is probably about 10 times more than anybody wants to know about how we live or work, or how these books went from our garage to the postal pipeline, it feels so good just knowing they’re on their way—a thank you to all the help we received, and to the people who had enough faith to put in their orders back when we were still wrestling with the manuscript.

We’re asking for help...

One of the inserts is a list of ways people (like you) can help us get this book into the hands of the kids and adults who can benefit from what the book has to say. Even things like asking for the book in a bookstore or at your library, saying that you’ve been hearing about this neat book called High School’s Not Forever can help bring this title to the attention of people who deal with millions of titles in their work.

Just telling a friend, referring someone to the Web site, writing a review on Amazon (or on our Web site), for example, can really make a difference, too. If you like it, tell someone—and let us know, too!

Jet-lagged a bit, still!

I’m still not up to my usual energy, though I’m happy to report finally sleeping past 4 a.m. for the first time in the 6 days I’ve been home!

July 13, 2005

Up at 3:00 a.m.

This is classic: I walk in the door after a 24-hour trip home, pushing myself to stay up as late as I possibly can so maybe I can sleep through the night and wake up on local time. Hahahahaha... I’ve been up for an hour, since 10 a.m. Copenhagen time, and of course I’m hungry!

Sheesh!

I’m in the guest room, where I often retreat when I can’t sleep, sane (or afraid) enough to not venture downstairs and see what’s on my desk. I've been answering emails and really enjoying having a speedy Internet connection again.

I had a fantastic time. Period. I’m already starting to make my list of things I need to do now that I’m back, and after this very healthy and very badly-needed break (and some sorely-missed Mexican food), I’m ready to dig back in.

I understand we’ve got boxes and boxes with copies of the new book ready to welcome me home and I’ve got a good 150-200 copies to send out to contributors and associates. Not a bad place to start.

June 28, 2005

Geek Cruise

I’ve decided to post a separate page detailing my journey for anyone (hi, Mom!) who might want to see where I am these two weeks, and what I’m doing on this trip! Click here for my trip log.

High School’s Not Forever

...has shipped! I was just about to put my stuff in the car to go to the airport this morning when the FedEx guy showed up with two copies of the book. It’s awesome. They’re both going to Europe with me, but I should have about 800 copies waiting for me when I get home in 2 weeks.

June 26, 2005

Getting Ready for Copenhagen

I’ve spent a fairly leisurely day packing two weeks’s worth of clothing and getting ready for this trip. So many details...

I also decided to install Tiger, Apple’s latest operating system, hoping I wouldn’t end up, as I often do any time I start mucking around with system software, spending the next 48 hours reinstalling everything I’ve got on this computer. So far, so good.

I figure as long as I’m going on a MacMania cruise, I may as well have the latest system and software (I also bought iLife yesterday), since that’s what most of the classes will be addressing. It’s just easier for me to learn things I’ve actually seen and used (or at least have access to). Plus, anything I can’t figure out, this will certainly be the place to be with my questions!!

Meanwhile, the business cards came in and they look GREAT! I can already envision reordering well before the end of summer. (Very cool company, if anyone needs business cards or postcards printed up: Overnight prints! NOTE added 9/11/05: I was far LESS impressed with the cards they printed when I reordered a few weeks later. The color was different, washed out looking, and I found them less than cooperative and very difficult to get ahold of by phone. I have since removed the link, as well as my recommendation to use their services.)

AND, our editor assured us that the books will be on the bindery at 6:00 a.m. Eastern time, Monday, tomorrow morning. They promise to overnight a copy to me and depending on FedEx’s ability to get it here before I have to leave for the airport at around 10:30, I might actually have a copy to take with me. Hold a good thought.

OK. Gotta go finish putting stuff in my carry-on bag so stay tuned for more news (and pictures) from the Baltic!

June 17, 2005

Good news about High School’s Not Forever

Some BIG developments this week. First of all, we found out that because of a big order from a certain account (I believe it’s K-Mart), the production schedule was pushed up to get the book out a few weeks early. This almost never happens, or at least has never happened that I’m aware of with any of my books in the past. VERY exciting.

We should be receiving a few author copies next week, which means I’ll be able to take a copy or two on the cruise with me. (We’re leaving on the 28th.)

The other side of this is the push to get the web site a little more complete and the pressure to announce the site (LOTS of emails out) and even more pressure to get a few more pieces together for marketing. (They need things like local media and bookstores, a complete breakdown of our schedules, including dates and times we’ll be available for book signings, a pitch for the talk shows, and answers to the media interview questions we developed when we were in California 2 weeks ago. Lots of work to do in the next few days.)

But I’ve had this remarkably productive past 24 hours which resulted in the design of a business card to promote the book (I’ve been writing the title and web site out on the backs of my business cards, or on scraps of paper for people I meet and tell about this project, so this will be far more professional!!), which I uploaded to an online printing company which promises it can turn it around in 24 hours. (I just checked. It’s already been picked up by UPS and scheduled for a Monday, 6/20 delivery. Is that cool or what?)

And here’s the coolest thing: My friend Laura Gutman and I sat down last night and created a shopping cart for the high school Web site so visitors can actually order that book online (with credit cards or using PayPal).

This is something I’ve been wanting to do for about as long as I’ve had a Web site (and I guess that’s been for about the last 8 or 9 years or so!) It wasn’t too bad once we got started but I never couldv’e done it without Laura’s help.

Although I might actually remember enough to be able to get one up for this site, this task promises to be as bit more complex. The high school site only has the one product; this site offers about four dozen books, articles, audio and video tapes, and stationery items, and promises to have a few more in the coming months! And I’m antsy to get this started before I forget how we did it! When I get around to this, I will post the availability on my home page, so stay tuned.

June 11, 2005

High School Web Site is up. REALLY.

MAJOR progress in the past two weeks. It feels like every minute I was conscious was spent working on the new Web site for High School’s Not Forever. (Tomorrow is my book group meeting and this is the first time in months I haven’t read the book. A good book, actually, from what I could tell in the first 12 pages, which I’ve read about 6 times...)

I’ve concentrated on getting some sample stories up in each of the 11 topical categories which represent the 11 chapters in the book. I also have resources for each of the 11 sections.

I started working on the “Tips & Advice” section and got about halfway through it before I got a little distracted by the addition of a “Media” section so we could refer potential interviewers to our bios (click on “About Eric Katz” and “About Jane Bluestein” for some very interesting “then” and “now” photos!)

First feedback

We’ve had a few people look over the Web site and when Eric and I were in California last week, we had a chance to share the actual manuscript with a few people who seemed excited and impressed from their first scans. Very cool seeing people actually looking at this thing, even in its uncorrected-page-proof state. (It looks good.)

The scope is enormous and we’ve got an impressive range of kids—diverse experiences, attitudes, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, grade levels, interests, you name it. And we cover a really wide range of topics.

Most of the feedback is positive so far. One person thought the stories were too negative, but she may have only been looking at the sample pages, which were prepared only to show us what the book would look like and do not convey quite the range of “voices” in the overall book.

I also know that a lot of adults we’ve spoken to in the past year or so would really rather kids only talk about high school as a positive experience and indeed, for some kids it really is. But even kids who really like high school struggle with the demands of just being a teen. And this book is for them as well.

I think we’re gonna take some heat for some of the colorful language (and issues) we decided to keep in the kid-to-kid pieces. We had one person object, though others seemed to think it all fit within the context and intention. If you’ve visited this page in the past year, you know that we wrestled with this decision for months and have come to a place where we are all (editors included) standing firmly behind the voices we’ve honored, even if, professionally, we do not use those voices (or words) ourselves.

At some point I will post these comments on the now-still-under-construction feedback pages, but for now, my priority is getting the other content up on the site.

Clearing the clutter. Sort of.

I have some pretty unassuming goals right now. Despite the pressures of getting the Web site for the new book a lot more done than it is, and pulling together everything we need for the marketing plan, PLUS starting in on the 21st Century Discipline revision, there are certain realities to running a business (or just having a life) that are starting to encroach.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get to the bottom of what’s on my desk (or the table behind it where I pile everything up that doesn’t fit on the desk, much less the boxes and baskets of paper all over the floor) but I really can’t live or work in a chaotic environment, and over the past year things have gotten more and more out of control. The papers always piled up faster than I could go through them on my brief “visits” at home. Times that by 8 or 9 months—and this on top of what I hadn’t gotten to before then—and we’re talking a lot of mess.

I HATE not being able to find things, from the energy-crystal necklace that’s supposed to support me amid all the low-frequency electromagnetic crap I’m sure I’m getting from all my various electronic “toys,” to the markers I bought at Office Depot a few weeks ago.

I’m finding that physical clutter around me creates mental clutter and fuzziness. Like earlier today, I found a purchase order for an undated upcoming workshop I’m doing and I swear, I had to get on my own Web site to see when this job was happening. (I got it on the site schedule, but for some reason, neglected to put it on my calendar and couldn’t remember which date I had committed.) That’s just sad.

So I spent the day going through some stuff. Unfortunately, I got distracted by the stuff—do I respond to this stuff or just sort it??—and in responding to the papers, as far as the piles are concerned, I barely made a dent! Sigh...

And on a personal note...

I’ve been going through this weird mid-life hair trauma... After years of not being able to find anyone who could really give me a haircut I liked (or worse, not being able to give me a good haircut twice in a row), I’ve decided to let it grow out. Maybe long eventually, but just going for a straighter, softer look for now.

If anyone out there has ever had the pleasure of growing out layers and bangs (and a bad haircut months ago), I don’t really need to say more. I sort of look like a cross between my grandmother in her flapper days and pictures of me when I was about 8, especially with that butterfly clip trying to keep my bangs out of my eyes right now.

Don’t know if I’m gonna be able to hold out but I’ve sort of been stuck in some variation of the same style since I had my down-to-my-waist hair cut and permed back in 1978. Even though the perm’s been gone for about 15 years, I couldn’t quite figure out how to transition out of the shag thing. It’s time.

Oh, one more cool thing: I have actually been sleeping for the past two weeks or so! My hormones are still pretty wacko but I’m seeing a new clinician and she adjusted the prescription (bio-identical, natural stuff) and something seems to be working.

I’m grateful.

Finally...

I’m just so grateful to be home. I was up earlier than I would have liked this morning, and out walking well before sunrise. I have to tell you, being up in open space, the cholla cactus in bloom, clouds drifting behind the mountains just before the sun, the western sky, at one point, dotted by ten hot-air balloons, almost brought me to tears. A spectacular way to start a day, and a great opportunity for me to, once again, count my many blessings.

Thanks for checking in...

May 26, 2005

High School Web Site is up. Sort of.

I am pleased to announce the launching of the Web site for our new book, High School’s Not Forever. There’s not much content yet, but all the structural and design elements (templates, library items, CSS) and the home page frameset are all in place. Click here to check out the site!

The deck is open...

This is my favorite day of the year! It’s summertime (almost) and time to move my workspace out to the deck. Although there are certain things I can only do efficiently at my desk in the office downstairs, I love spending mornings working outside. (It gets too warm after about 2:00 on most days.)

This is where I do much of my writing and research or reading, and where, lately, I’ve been working on my Web sites, watching the birds at the feeders right in front of me, enjoying the incredible view and the high desert air. I know I’m still a bit giddy from being home for more than two weeks, but it really doesn’t get much better than this.

May 15, 2005

3:30 a.m., London

Jet lag, anyone? I’m not only wide awake but really hungry! (It’s 8:30 pm at home right now.) It takes days for me to get on local time and probably just as I start adjusting, it’ll be time for me to head home—about 36 hours from now.

I did all the things they say to do—staying up all day when I got here, walking around in the sunlight, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, going to bed after it gets dark. And still...

The day I got here, I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather to do some sightseeing. I grabbed a couple of maps at the front desk and had a blast navigating the buses and the Tubes (subway) to get around town. (Nothing like a good mass transit system, especially in a city this size!) I still ended up walking for miles, which I hoped would wear me out so I’d sleep later that night.

I wanted to check out the London Eye, this enormous, slow-moving ferris wheel right on the banks of the Thames. The views were incredible (or “brilliant,” as they say here!) but I think I was even more fascinated by the engineering of this thing. Truly remarkable.

I walked past the Parliament and Big Ben (no tours until summer, I was told) and spent a couple hours just hanging out in Westminster Abbey, which was one of the first places I visited on my first trip here, nearly 30 years ago! (That was also the last time I actually spent any time in London.)

I slept so late on Friday, once I finally fell asleep, that I never did get out to do any sightseeing! But I had a lovely evening meeting a friend for dinner and a play. (We saw A Patch of Blue in a tiny theater in the back of a pub! Terrific performances, with the British actors really nailing the American accents! Quite impressive.)

The conference yesterday was fantastic, and a great way to end the semester and school year. What a lovely group of people! Of course many of the problems and concerns in schools we see in the States also exist here, and clearly the same solutions will apply as well. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the other speakers; the participants certainly got a terrific blend of information.

London is incredibly expensive and our dollar is definitely not doing well right now. It’s more than $25 a day to get online here so I’m not gonna bother uploading these updates until I get home.

So, OK. It’s now just after 4 a.m. I’m supposed to meet another friend sometime later today and I sure hope he’s flexible cause at this point, I do not feel like setting an alarm and there’s no telling when I’ll be asleep (or awake) again.

May 11, 2005

In the Air again...

Greetings from 35,000 feet! I’m on my way to London for a conference focusing on the relationship between kids’ behavior (or, “behaviour”) and achievement.

As much as I whine about traveling sometimes, I’m actually quite excited about this trip. I guess being home for a few days was enough to re-energize me. It’s been ages since I’ve been in London and the thought of seeing a few friends I haven’t seen in a couple of years, walking around town, and just being in a big, foreign city again has me really psyched.

In the meantime, I’ve got the iPod shuffling through Tull, the Stones, Roxy Music, the Smiths, Cream, and the like, definitely getting me in the mood. Too cool...

But first...

I think I’ve nailed down a design for the new Web site—the one that goes along with the new, soon-to-be-released book, High School’s Not Forever. If you want to get an idea of what the site will look like, click here or go to www.highschoolsnotforever.com/page.html.

May 5, 200

Quick Update

I’m writing from the restaurant in the Thunderbird Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota, one trip away from the official end of the semester. Just finished a lovely day with a group of about 150 counselors, social workers, youth intervention specialists, teachers, foster parents, alternative school and corrections people and others who work with at-risk kids. I’ve got about 3 hours before my flight home, a few minutes before the airport shuttle will ferry me over to the airport.

I’ve finished with BER for the school year which means quite a bit less travel for the next few months, a chance to catch my breath, sort of. The last run was a good one and I’m grateful for the work I did with this terrific group of people.

I’ve now turned my attention to a few other projects, including revising my handout book (which I do every year for my BER workshops, and which becomes the source of all my workshop handouts for the year), working on the High School’s Not Forever Web site and starting on a 3rd edition of 21st Century Discipline.

Yes, this is exciting news. I’m anticipating a contract from a new publisher and as soon as we nail down details, I’ll fill you in. They look like great people and I’m excited about the prospect of working with them.

High School’s Not Forever is still in the design phase and we haven’t seen anything beyond what I already have posted on this site. So stay tuned...

I’ve got one trip left this crazy semester: I head out for London next Wednesday. Very excited about working with this new organization (The Centre for Child Mental Health) and looking forward to seeing a few friends I haven’t seen in a few years. (Though you think Cream could’ve held off one more week before their big reunion concert. Darn!) I’ll let you know how it goes.

April 16, 2005

High School Book Galley Pages online

We got some sample galley pages this week and BOY do they look good!! If you want to check out what the book will look like on the inside, you can go to http://www.janebluestein.com/bookstore/hsnf_sample.html or simply click here to download the PDF.

Off my Chest: The State of the Profession

I just got a postcard from a friend. He’s a high school principal, and a brilliant educator. He writes, “Education backsliding fast. Time to get out before the ship sinks.”

This really struck a nerce, in part because it came at the end of a long week, after six full-day presentations over the last eight days. Now I met some incredible, positive, dedicated and committed educators this time out. But an otherwise terrific trip ended on a sour note, and yesterday... yipes! I ended up with a number of people who had been sent to my seminar as a “disciplinary action” (always a danger when doing presentations that focus on dealing effectively with difficult students) and boy, did they have the attitudes, agendas and closed minds to go with it.

Every now and then I get a number of people who are, perhaps understandably, bitter and negative. Their energy reminds me of a trapped and wounded animal. They’re defensive, hurt, angry and disenfranchised. Getting something out of the presentation—much less enjoying it—becomes an impossible concession to the administrator or supervisor who demanded that they attend (or, like yesterday, threatened them with insubordination if they did not). Not exactly an ideal way to prepare someone for a potential learning experience. It doesn’t actually feel personal, but boy, it can make the day seem awfully long.

I am increasingly nervous about the number of people I meet who are leaving the profession for lack of support, continual decreases in discretion, increased pressure to improve or fix things beyond their control, or simply, as one person told me, because “I did not go into teaching to prepare kids to take tests.”

My heart hurts for them, partly because I’ve been down that road myself and remember all too well the needless obstacles that made a challenging job nearly impossible to do, or do well.

I’m also nervous because what they learn in my seminars, if indeed they learn anything, is probably 180° from what their administrators sent them there to get. And that doing what actually works with kids—in terms of improving behavior, commitment, learning and performance (even though I make sure to discuss ways to “cover their backsides”) is very likely to draw fire and create even more stress in their lives.

I know the feeling of wanting to jump off a sinking ship. When I left the classroom, I was fairly sure I was done with education, and I’ve sworn off numerous times since. But I keep coming back because, in part, this is simply who I am. Or maybe I’m just not ready to give up on the wealth of proven possibilities we actually have for reaching kids, the hundreds of strategies we can use that work, especially in a healthy and supportive environment.

And, as I also experienced in this past week, I know that there are at least a few healthy, positive and supportive schools and districts doing some amazing things, and I guess as long as there are a few of them left, or as long as at least a few people show up because they are indeed committed to making positive changes and just want a few more ideas, I’ll hang around.

It’s late in the season. I haven’t been home for more than 2 weeks (and that long only once) since the end of September. I’m tired. There are days when I feel, physically, like I’m barely holding together. And I never seem to be able to stay caught up on much of anything anymore. So I’m a little sensitive to the negativity out there right now, and very grateful for the creativity and persistence of the educators I meet who are somehow managing in these crazy times.

April 7, 2005

Up in the Air

Literally. I’m on a plane (my 9th commuter flight in a week and a half) heading to Winnipeg. I’m starting to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve lost track of how many days I’ve been out, but I’m very clear on what I’ve got left: 13 presentations in 13 cities in 3 countries, five out of the next six weeks on the road.

So OK, I’m tired. Grateful for all this incredible work, all these remarkable opportunities. It’s beautiful up here at however many feet high these little jets go and I actually have an empty seat next to me—a rare and precious treat. But I am starting to feel the effects of being gone more than half of the past eight months, of not being home for more than 8 or 9 consecutive days since New Year’s. And there are days I feel like I’m holding on by a thread.

Yes, I’m quite exited about all of my upcoming engagements. And I’m looking forward to having a three-week break in mid-May, more than I can describe.

Books, Books, Books!

High School’s Not Forever is in production. For all intents and purposes, our work on it is done. (I am, for some reason, having a hard time deciding on what to write for my bio. It’s easy writing for teachers. I can’t imagine what a bunch of kids would want to know about me...)

Here’s a very cool thing: I’m talking to a publisher for a new (3rd) edition of 21st Century Discipline. This will mean a significant revision—more like a complete overhaul! So assuming this goes through, I guess I’ll be writing again this summer. I won’t be home as much as I’ll probably need to be, but the thought of laying out on my deck, watching the birds, this laptop on my lap... how cool is that? Even if it’s only for a few weeks, I’m so looking forward to spending some time like that. Stay tuned for details as soon as we nail them down.

New Website!

I only have a welcome page for a dedicated Web site for the new book, High School’s Not Forever, at highschoolsnotforever.com. (Yes, we can see how much it looks like highschoolSNOTforever. Hey, if that helps people remember the URL, so much the better.)

Eric and I are now wrestling with the design, but the basic architecture is there.

What we need is content!! We have some perfectly lovely stories and tips and facts and quotes that we had to cut out of the manuscript when we found out it was twice as long as it needed to be, and that’s a start. I’ve just printed up a bunch of invites for teachers and will share them at my workshops in Winnipeg and, next week, in the five workshops I’m doing around New England. Anybody reading this want to write?

Mar. 9, 2005

High School Book

It’s been edited and is moving toward production. For more details, click here.

Other Stuff

I’m in Rochester, NY (as opposed to Rochester, MN, where I was three weeks ago), in the middle of a week that started in Burlington, VT and ends on Friday in Buffalo. (I’ve declared this to officially be my last week of winter!!)

I’m waiting for about a dozen pages of parent handouts to come back from the Ann Worthington, who is proofreading the Spanish translation and translating a few links, references and additional material on those pages.

I’m excited about finally having some of my material available in Spanish. I’ve had many requests for some Spanish-language materials over the years and should have these handouts up by the time I post this, even if only in draft form.

I’ve been approached by a couple of people who might be interested in translating these pages into French. Pending their proposals, I am looking forward to being able to offer these pages at some point in the near future.

Speaking of translations, I’ve got about 10 extra copies of The Parent’s Little Book of Lists in Turkish if anyone is interested.

OK, that’s about it for now. It’s actually Friday, 3/11, and after five back-to-back, full-day presentations, I’m a bit fried.

Feb. 6, 2005

High School Book

I just turned in the revisions on the last chapters. Eric and I have completely overhauling the the organization and structure of each chapter. Hopefully, these will be the last major changes to the manuscript. We expect to move a few chapters around, but that’s mechanical—and a whole lot simpler than these major conceptual changes have been. See our progress page for more details.

I also expect that my role will be, in the next few days, responding to feedback from my co-author and editor. This is far less imposing (or intimidating) than where we were six weeks ago, facing a major reconceptualization. I really do hope that that part of the process is done.

The latest version of the reorganized structure (with sub-categories within each chapter) is listed on the contents page. Note that the current sub-category titles are simply for our benefit in reorganizing the content. I expect that we’ll eventually be renaming these with more teen-friendly titles. (Eric is way better at this than I am.) Stay tuned.

Closeout Books

Wow! On my last few speaking engagements, the coupons for these books were scarfed up quickly and we sold out of another six titles. As our supplies dwindle (I think we are now down to 10 titles out of the original 350!), I decided to consolidate all the remaining supplies onto one closeout sale page, rather than dividing them up into resources for specific markets. Get ’em while you can. In many cases, we only have one or two copies left.

Immediate Goals

With the major revision pretty much finished, I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into a few other projects I’ve had on deck for a while. I just received a number of handouts and materials from The Parent’s Little Book of Lists and Parents, Teens & Boundaries in Spanish! I am hoping to have the text of these pages entered and added to this site in the next couple of weeks.

There are so many other things needing attention! New projects, Web site updates (I really want to get to the Forum ideas people have shared, add to the Links section and improve the materials for Staff Development Coordinators) and still a number of clerical details related to the book. I’m leaving tomorrow and will be gone most of February (I have LOVED this past week at home!!) but will update from the road.

Jan. 10, 2005

High School Book

I’ve just updated the page on which I promised to keep track of our progress on this book. I am not in a good space about it right now, anticipating having to cut a lot of good material (which ultimately will end up on the web site, whenever I get around to putting that together) and very anxious about trying to figure out how to reorganize what we’ve got.

We’re waiting for more specific input from our editor, but this has really created a lot of stress for Eric and me. An hour before the call, I had been sitting at my desk barely able to breathe trying to figure out how I was going to get through all the crap on my desk. And now this...

They need these revisions done in a month, which would be hard enough without me being on the road for four of the next five weeks. Wonder why I’m up at 4:30 in the morning? Again?

21st Century Discipline, Being a Successful Teacher

These books were acquired by McGraw-Hill when they bought out Frank Schaffer Publishing and, as often happens when old titles end up in new hands, were immediately overlooked and ignored! That’s hardly the first time that’s happened with these books, each of which has been in the hands of at least 9 or 10 publishers since the first contracts were drawn up!

When this happens, I’ve learned that it’s time to move on. The new publishers have been unbelievably difficult and unresponsive to work with, and frankly, that really told me it was time to get the rights back and move on—either seeking out a new home for these books, keeping them in print myself or letting them just die out. (This last bit, letting them go out of print, is definitely not an option with the discipline book.)

I’ve been writing and calling since September, just trying to get some sense of the publisher’s intentions for these books. And today, I finally got a letter confirming that the books had, indeed, been dropped from their “in print” list. In another lifetime, that might have really saddened me, but all I felt seeing their letter today was an immense sense of relief!

Over the last few months, we’ve managed to buy out all remaining copies of both 21st Century Discipline and Being a Successful Teacher. Unless something unusual happens with sales, we should have enough to last for another year or two. It will be at least six months before I can think about pitching these titles to another publisher, if that is what I want to do with them, or revising them to republish on my own, but for now I am simply content to have the rights back—for whatever I decide to do.

On the Road

I’m just back from four days in Wisconsin and Illinois. Despite some really nasty weather between Madison and Chicago, and a whole lot of snow, the week went well.

I’m definitely running into increasingly angry and frustrated teachers, and a lot of people who feel really stuck and disempowered sometimes. My heart hurts for them, and for what they are dealing with right now, and I hope that some of the ideas I’m sharing are helping.

I had some rather large—and lovely—groups on this run. Lots of really nice people, participants who got my jokes and seemed, in general, to be open to trying some new things. And while the turnout surprised me for being so early in the semester, the truth is, for me, it was way too soon to be back on the road.

I’m very much committed to keeping my schedule clear between mid-November through mid-January of next (school) year, and sometimes think that the promise of this break is all that’s keeping me going right now, and an important part of what might just get me through the next few months.

Need some Z’s...

I’ve decided that about 90% of what is NOT working in my life would be a LOT less of an issue if I were getting more (and better) sleep!

It’s 5:30 a.m. and I’ve been up for over an hour, though this is after getting nearly 5 hours of sleep, which is actually a pretty good stretch for me. The good news is that I’m home this week, so although it ends up messing up (and shortening) my day, I do have the luxury of going back to bed and getting some more sleep after I finish working on this site or reading some more.

This has really been a problem for me for the past few years and none of the alternative therapies seem to be helping much (although I suppose it could be worse than it is). I suspect this is hormonal, although I’m sure that, at the moment, anxiety is playing a part as well.

Bottom line, I’m depleting the reserves faster than I’m restoring them, and that makes me really nervous—which, I’m sure, is having an effect on my sleep. Damn...

Jan. 1, 2005

Welcome to a New Year

Happy New Year, everyone!

For the most part, I’ve spent the last two weeks recuperating from a very hectic and exhausting November and December, which involved a great deal of travel (including a whole bunch of presentations and a wonderful Geek cruise), finishing and submitting the manuscript for High School’s Not Forever, the flu and the holidays—with much overlap in all of the above.

It’s not unusal to feel a little let down and unfocused after wrapping up a project that has occupied such an enormous amount of my time and energy, and that has certainly been true since Eric and I wrapped up the book, especially with this event coinciding with the end of the semester and year! I’ve been moving slowly and in terms of productivity, don’t have much to show for the time I’ve been home (a precious two whole weeks). This is probably a good thing!

So what I’ve been up to has been mostly a lot of fun and restorative stuff—reading, knitting, renting movies, cooking, walking, hanging out with Jerry and Shadow and a few friends here and there, getting my hair cut or my nails done, and managing to work in two massages in the last two weeks! I suppose I have caught my breath, and while I am excited about the upcoming workshops, I’m not sure I’m entirely ready to head back to the airport again so soon!

As far as resolutions go, I’m still seeking balance and moderation in my life—things that have never come very easily to me. I find myself thinking more in terms of goals than resolutions and also find that specifying my intentions in writing seems to really help make them manifest. So here are a few things I would like to accomplish in the coming year:

Clear out the rest of the “closeout inventory” as part of our efforts to narrow the focus of our business. We’re currently down to about 15 titles (from the 350 we had in our last catalogue), many of them with only one or two copies remaining.

Create new products. I’ve been wanting to get my Teacher Tapes on CD, bring out the CDs for counselors, and put a number of our products (“Pads” on the Back, TeacherSaver Memo Pads and the article, “Positively Positive,” among other things) on a CD as well.

Create a dedicated Web site for our new book, High School’s Not Forever to include additional stories, resources, questions and answers, feedback and testimonials and other information relevant to the teen market.

Set up a shopping cart on this site.

Create an account with Pay Pal.

Create a link with Amazon.com. Maybe...

Create a data base and site map for this site.

Bring out a new version of the formerly-retired Book of Article Reprints for people who want to purchase all of my articles in one place!

Clean out my office files, my garage, my studio.

Get my studio files up on this site. Make time to do more craft work. Maybe now that the book is done...

Keep walking (I love shooting for 10K steps a day!) and avoid eating stupid when I’m on the road.

Enhance and improve the Links section of this site and actually set up the idea sharing sections in our various Forums.

Settle copyright and ownership issues with two of my books, 21st Century Discipline and Being a Successful Teacher with possible revisions for each.

Write more articles.

Revisit the possibility of revising Parents in a Pressure Cooker, an oldie-but-goodie, as they say, that’s been out of print for the last couple of years.

There’s more, I’m sure, and I’ll add them as I think of them, and note my progress on the ones I can actually get to. So stay tuned and as interesting things happen, I’ll update this blog accordingly!

Other “Highlights” pages: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006.

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© 2008, Jane Bluestein, Ph.D., Instructional Support Services, Inc.
Last updated on December 4, 2006 6:18 PM